The Oracle
by kmila
Summary: Oliver never though he will see The Oracle again after he came back to Starling City and became The Arrow. He never expected for her to have a twin sister, whom he needs to protect from the Russian Mafia. Olicity AU
1. The Oracle

**Hello! I have had this idea burning in my head all day, I decided to write it out and see where it takes me. An Alternate universe story in which Felicity's twin sister, The Oracle asks Oliver to protect her from the Bratva.**

**1. The Oracle**

"Oracle" his voice was low and deep, the one he regularly used under the hood, and sounded out of breath from all the commotion. The woman in front of him smiled, but the gesture didn't reach her eyes. She had long full dark coopery brown hair, and her lips where slightly open, panting of exertion. She straightened up chin rising up in the air, as he rose up deep blue eyes studying her movements.

"Mr. Queen, long time…" she started to say expression going more relaxed as her slim arms hanged to her sides still holding the gun on her hand, eyes fixed on him almost without blinking. She hadn't seen him in two years, and was happy to find him looking better than before, stronger and more reserved. She felt this was an improvement from the confused boy she had saved in the Island so many years ago.

"I didn't think I will see you again" he interrupted, as he looked down to the two men in the ground, who were still breathing barely alive. He came to his knees and began to tide them up; Diggle was not far away, probably on his way now that he had seen a strange woman showing up to help him.

"You don't sound so happy" she smirked but he didn't return the gesture, calculating eyes over her.

"I can say that I am" it was the truth and he wanted to cut down the chase, there was only one reason the Oracle was in front of him that night. It wasn't to chitchat, but was to claim the favor he owed her. His expression was hard, as he came up to his feet "cut down the chase Megan, I don't have time to waste"

"It's my sister" she said suddenly, the cold mask that had been previously on her face slid off, Oliver could see she was concerned and even pained.

"You have a sister?" his brows met in the middle as he studied her movements, she looked uncomfortable and raw. He had never seen her looking so vulnerable before "I thought that you had lost the only member of your family in that freighter in Lian Yu" she took a step towards him swallowing loudly.

"I might have lied to you then… that doesn't mean you didn't killed my family on that Freighter" she reminded him, voice poisonous and angry. Oliver didn't flinch, he took a step forward to meet her, their bodies where close and they both irradiated warm of anger and mixed emotions.

"He killed Shado, he poison Slade and threaten Sara… if I remember correctly he had been experimenting with you too" Her face contorted in anger.

"He was trying to safe me" she said shortly, a finger tapping his hard chest, her eyes squinted "I saved you, I saved your friend… you owe me Oliver" he pressed his lips into a thin line and didn't fight back. Megan stepped back a corner of her lips tweaked up into a half smile "I guess you haven't forgotten"

"What is that you want?" he said patience running thin, feeling as if ants where crawling on his skin, wanting to be far away from her and his haunted past.

"My sister… she is in danger"

"I'm sure you can take care of your sister… clearly" he said one hand waving to the men in the ground, Megan crossed her arms in front of her chest and starred him down.

"I could and have been for years, but she doesn't know who I am Oliver, she doesn't know that I exist, I can't fully take care of her from the shadows"

"That is not my problem" Oliver said coldly and turned to leave, having enough of her.

"I am dying… and even if I could keep protecting her, me being close only puts her in more danger" Oliver stayed in silence for a moment, back facing her while his eyes fixed in a point on the building in front of him. His heart beating slowly on his chest and he was surprised he felt pain at her admission. She was dying… the woman who saved him from that sinking boat, who had taken him and Sara to Russia and kept them alive, who taught him greatly how to fight, how to not trust anyone.

Who had betrayed him to her own agenda, made him a killer who battled his own demons daily. I guess Ivo her father was truly the man who made Oliver a killer, he had been the first man he killed in cold blood.

"They found me here… it's only a matter of time before they find her too"

Oliver turned on his heals and starred at her, trying to find any lies, to see behind her bright blue eyes if she was manipulating him like she had done so many times before. She was a smart woman, smarter than anyone he had ever known.

"Who found you?" his voice didn't sound so distant anymore, his eyes studied her and noticed that she looked the same, slim but more muscular, thick lips, small nose and pale skin that contrasted with her dark hair. She was wearing dark pants, a light lilac shirt and leather jacket.

"The league" she said after a moment of silence.

"The league is in Starling?" his brow furrowed in concern "they don't have any business being here" in _his_ city.

"I'm their business, and I am here protecting her from the Bratva… but I can't protect her from them and from the League of Assassins" she sounded desperate and he was angry with himself knowing he was going to end up agreeing to whatever the Oracle was about to ask.

"Why would the Bratva want anything with her Megan, if she is so defenseless that needs protecting it makes no sense… was she involved with anything that Ivo was working on?" he asked after a moment and she shook her head violently. He was the Captain of the Bratva in Starling, and very few people knew about it.

He was disconnected from the Russian mafia and wanted to keep it that way. Megan was quiet for a moment and he noticed she was shifting her weight around, face contorting in pain for a moment.

"Are you hurt?" he asked suddenly, sounding more concerned that he should have. He mentally scowled himself for it and put his indifferent mask back on.

"Glad to hear your still care" she said with a smile and he glowered at her and didn't comment back "I am not hurt, not from this fight either way… my muscles and bones are losing their battle with the disease, I guess the treatments my father was working on before didn't cure me after all, I am not sure when I will lose my legs…"

"You said your sister doesn't know you, that you exist… explain how is that she is in danger but is not connected to you" he changed the subject.

"When my parents found out I was sick when I was young, there wasn't much they could do but wait until I die, medicine was not going to cure me, but just help me for a few years… my sister, she is not sick like I am, my father was a doctor as you know, and wanted to find a cure, he started to design the serum… the one you and Sara destroyed when you killed him" she sounded angry for a moment but then it was gone and he was glad, it wasn't a fight he wanted to have with her again.

"… He left them, my mother and my sister and took me with him, I guess she was too young when we left for her to remember me" she sounded upset, her eyes went to the ground momentarily, she took a deep breath before speaking again, trying to regain her control, thinking what she wanted to say to him.

"…Maybe she just blocked the memory of us to protect herself, I don't know, all that I know is that she is smart, she has skills that the Bratva will love to acquire, and she is innocent Oliver, she has nothing to do with what my father did to Anatoly, she doesn't deserve their wrath" she sounded pleading as his eyes studied her intently.

"And what is that you want me to do? Talk to Anatoly, expect he will forgive his vendetta with your family?" he sounded cold and distant.

"I want you to keep her safe, whatever it takes… she doesn't need to know about me, or our father, my mom and her… they don't know anything, as far as they know I died when I was five, and he abandon them" Oliver took a breath and shifted on his heals.

"You owe me, and Sara does too… if you wont help me I will have to ask her and she will have to deal with the Bratva, may I remind you she is not the Captain" she reminded him and Oliver gave her a hard look.

"Glad to know you haven't changed Megan" he said sarcastically.

"Glad to know you have" she retorted.

"You will leave Starling City if I chose to help you" it was a statement and she nodded gravely.

"I will go to Gotham City… far away from you and Sara and her" Oliver's hand pressed his nose bridge, taking a deep breath thinking for a moment about it. He remembered that night when he shot Ivo on the head, his eyes wide in shock and the sound of the gun in the cold wet room. She remembered Sara's hand on his arm and Megan's screams from outside.

"What's her name?" he asked after a moment and she smiled relieved.

"Her name is Felicity, Felicity Smoak… don't fail me Oliver, or I will come back and bring the league behind me" she said, Oliver opened his lips to retorted back, but steps rounded from the metal stairs on the side of the building. He turned around to face the intruder, hand going up to his hood, placing it on top of his head quickly. He raised his bow and placed an arrow in it fluidly to lower it almost immediately when he saw the shape of John Diggle appear, he had his gun drawn out and he examined the rooftop before putting the gun down. Dark eyes meeting Oliver's blue ones.

"Where did she go?" he asked quickly and Oliver turned around to see that she had left, probably disappeared in the shadows of the night.

"She's gone" he said and both his arms hanged down, hart beating fast as her name and memories took over his mind.

"Who was she?" Diggle asked and he was next to Oliver, leaning down to inspect the two robbers that were on the floor still knocked out.

"Someone from my past…"

"A good someone, or a bad one?" their eyes met and he could see Diggle was a mixture of concerned and curious.

"Neither… both" Oliver said and let himself breath at ease for the first time in the last 30 minutes "lets call the Police so they can come and get this scumbags and head to the Foundry… I will tell you about the Oracle there"

"So let me get this straight… when you where in Lian Yu there was a ship … and that ship had a bunch of fugitive, criminal scumbags that a crazy doctor was experimenting on to save his daughter" Diggle sounded disbelieving. Oliver took a bite of his burger and simply nodded.

"Yep, seems like you got all the details right" he said after he had swallowed and Diggle rose an eyebrow still skeptical.

"You got out of that hell of an Island and didn't come back home straight away… why?"

"I didn't have a choice" Oliver snapped his brow furrowed and his eyes steely "It's not like I wanted to be dragged all the way to Russia, it's a long story and maybe I will tell you all about it someday but all you need to know is that the people that got us out of the Island took Sara, Megan and me unwillingly, and Megan… the Oracle, she kept us alive"

"She sounds like a hero" Diggle said voice full of irony.

"She was far from a hero… but I am alive because of her, when we were in that Island trying to survive Ivo and his mercenaries, we found a submarine, it was old and we didn't really know how to use it, I end it up saving from the Freighter a few people, the leader of the Russian mafia was among them… he had been kidnapped by Ivo, who interestingly enough didn't seem to care at the moment he was pissing off someone very powerful"

"I guess he though the guy wasn't going to make it out alive" Diggle said, he crossed his hands on the table in front of him and Oliver nodded, eyes lost in a fixed spot in the foundry back wall, remembering.

"I am telling you all of this Diggle because what I am about to take on is going to affect the mission we are on, this good we are doing to this city… you deserve to know" Diggle preserved his serious stance, dark eyes fixed on Oliver.

"A.R.G…" Oliver stopped pressing his lips realizing he almost gave it away completely "The people who where holding us were a secret US government agency, they realized I had acquired some training in Lian Yu, and they took advantage of it, they threaten my life and Sara's if we didn't cooperate, they wanted us to be spies of sorts, soldiers" Oliver took a deep breath, swallowing the thick knot that had formed in his throat, Diggle seemed more alert knowing well of the agency Oliver was talking about, but choosing not to say so.

"They said it would be easy to kill someone that the whole world already thought dead" Oliver's eyes met Diggle's and he knew that his friend believed him. Every word made the room grow smaller around him, the horrible memories of assassinations, tortures and beatings.

"Megan was good with computers… her code name was The Oracle, she normally didn't come to the missions with Sara and I, she stayed behind computers and guided us in… the last mission we were together it was different, we were told the three of us needed to go in"

"We got out away because she discovered we were investigating a Bratva crime. She knew Ivo had kidnapped someone high up in the ranks, she didn't know how high up… but she knew I had saved him from the Freighter" Oliver paused mind filled with memories "she told us she will cover for us, tell them we were killed, she urged us to leave and contact Anatoly. We thought she was tricking us somehow, but we had been working with her for a year and wanted to trust her… we left her there"

"And what happened… you didn't come back then, and you most certainty didn't come back with Sara" Diggle said. Oliver expression grew a little darker and he took another deep breath.

"I wasn't ready to come back Diggle, not after all the things I lived through… the things I did, plus I wish I could say my journey ended when I met Anatoly and he remembered I had saved him, but it didn't"

"So what happened with Sara, did she go to the Bratva too?" Oliver shook his head and lowered his face, not wanting to remember any more.

"We got separated a few days later… she didn't want to be a part of it, I didn't know what had happened to her, later we found out she had been taken by the League" Diggle nodded remembering the League of Assassins coming to Starling City the year before, looking for Sara.

"So the league is behind this woman… The Oracle" Diggle said changing the subject back to what had happened earlier that night.

"Apparently so"

"And she wants you to protect a sister that doesn't know she exists from the Russian Mafia" Oliver nodded jaw tightening.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea" Diggle said simply and Oliver nodded sharply.

"I am the Captain of the Bratva here in the United States… I could protect her, if she was part of my team, a friend. I might be able to save her from something horrible, The Oracle said her sister was good with computers, and it was something the Bratva will be interested in exploit… we don't want the Russian mafia getting this girl and using her to do bad"

"Right" Diggle nodded "But how are you going to protect her from the head of the Bratva… even if you are a Captain" Diggle sounded incredulous.

"I don't have much of a choice Diggle, I owed her my life"

"What about us?"

"What about it?"

"What we do is dangerous Oliver, going behind criminals on a day to day basis… maybe you can protect her from your past, but what about your present, your future?" Oliver felt as his heart was clenching at his friends words.

"If this girl is as innocent as Megan says, but is also good with computers like her sister she can be of help to us and our mission, to find about the H.I.V.E and to help us catch people who are destroying the city" Diggle didn't look convinced "we can protect her"

"Before I'm in, I want us to check up on her… make sure she is who her sister says she is, that she is innocent" Diggle paused for a moment "then we can see about protecting her"

Oliver walked in the 15th floor of Queen Consolidate that afternoon, the determination of his steps resounded against the empty walls of the corridor. He shouldn't have been surprised to learn she worked in his company, what were the odds he would ever escape his past? He wasn't ever going to be that lucky.

On the other hand her being so close meant he could keep an eye on her without having to be so close. His hand gripped the laptop on his hand, it was Floyd Lawton's computer and he needed to get some information out of it. It was a perfect cover out, to get to know this girl and see how good her skills where.

He approached the frosted glass door that read in clear letters IT department; he took a short breath and prepared himself for what was to come. Feeling strangely nervous about the strange woman who he was about to meet he pushed the door open. The IT department was mostly empty, white cubicles filled with computer parts, cables and thick books and large monitors in each desk. The walls were bright blue, and his eyes fixed in the back of a blonde woman, she was typing in her computer, humming a song softly as her head bob in the air.

His head went to the side as he starred at her, the sound of her voice sounded familiar and it made his skin crawl. He cleared his throat softly thinking her name out loud.

"Felicity Smoak?" he heard himself speak as she turned on her seat, blue eyes behind glasses, blonde hair tide on a low ponytail. Her lips were painted red, the same color of the pen that balanced on her lips. Those thick lips that were now opening in surprise, his heart sped up inside his chest and he felt his insides moving dangerously, making him feel sick.

"Of course… I know who you are, you are Mr. Queen" she said in a nervous voice. Hand picking the pen that was previously on her lips. He noticed her cheeks had turned a slight color of pink and her eyes moved down his body, she blinked and her eyes were on his once again, confused.

"Megan?" His shock was such he realized he had been starring in silence; the words had escaped his lips before he could stop them. She turned her head to the side looking dazed.

"That's my middle name, Felicity Megan Smoak… I must really be in trouble if the President comes by and knows my full name" she said nervously "I swear I didn't know I was not supposed to go to the weapons area, it was an honest mistake, the door it's right next to the cafeteria and there is no signs… and if I didn't have clearance to go in, my badge shouldn't have opened the door… maybe something that needs to be worked on before you fire me" she rambled taking a deep breath before she stopped, her skin growing hotter and redder by the minute. Oliver didn't realize the soft smile that had appeared on his face. That was most definitely _not _the Oracle.

"I'm not here to fire you Ms. Smoak, but please call me Oliver… Mr. Queen was my father" he said, mask going back on his face his eyes studying the woman in front of him, the one that looked identical to Megan Ivo. But the most he looked at her he noticed the differences, she wore glasses which Megan didn't, her hair was golden and longer, and her expression looked soft, innocent, not corrupted.

She was a person… not a soldier.

"Ok then- Oliver… what can I do for you?"

"I'm having a problem with my computer and they told me you where the person to come and see" he said casually producing said computer from his side, handing it to her with a swift move. Both of her hands rose up and held the laptop before he let it go, his blue eyes studied her expression intently.

"I was surfing the web and spilled a latte on it" he said, pressing his lips shut after, knowing that was the worst excuse he could have come up with. Her head turned to the side, both of her eyes starred at him behind her glasses.

"Really?" she asked incredulous "Because this look like bullet holes" so she wasn't stupid, he starred at her straight face.

"My coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood" she pressed her lips together forcing herself not to say anything else, he obviously was lying but the rich man must have his reasons and it wasn't her job to poke him about it "if there is anything you can salvage from it… I will really appreciate it"

"Mmmhmmm" she said and his hand went to his pocket, picking up his wallet, producing a business card, he slid it over the slick desk.

"Call me whenever you are done…" he said and she took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the card momentarily.

"Okay"

"Have a good day Felicity"

"You too Mr…. Oliver"


	2. Identity

**2. Identity**

It had been a few weeks since Oliver Queen; the CEO of Queen Consolidates walked into her office carrying a bullet-ridden computer and a lame excuse. She never really considered the possibility of actually getting to meet him in person. He had felt like an unreachable super star of sorts; possibly do to him being on the tabloids regularly… and the fact that he was rich and absolutely gorgeous. Party boys and geek girls normally didn't really hang in the same circles.

She thought he was more handsome in person, remembering the sharpness of his jaw and his large blue eyes. She shook her head fiercely trying to stop her brain from keeping her thoughts on him and the musk and sandalwood of his cologne.

Men like that normally didn't venture to the IT department, their assistants did. Really a phone call would have been more than sufficient, one asking her to come to his office and pick the laptop instead. She probably wouldn't even have had the chance to meet him, because his assistant Joyce Byrne would have handed it to her with a dismissive stance.

He was a mystery; his computer and his serious face that had darkened immediately when she told him about the weird blue prints she had found. She shouldn't have been surprised when later that week the Arrow had been involved in saving a few people from a sniper in the same building of the blueprints.

Maybe if she hadn't been thinking about him and the weirdness that surrounded their first meeting, she wouldn't have pieced everything together so quickly. Oliver Queen _had_ to be the Arrow. The vigilante, who at first had appeared in Starling City when Oliver had returned home from the dead, or Lian Yu.

Coincidence? She didn't think so.

It would have been easy for her to just ignore it all if she didn't find her heart racing when she heard his name in the hallways at work. When there was a random person entering the IT department at weird hours and without previous warnings, she even found that her heart raced when she saw men that were large in size, with short hair and nice suits from afar, soon to realize to her dismay that it wasn't him.

She was not sure why she hadn't gone to the police when she had the information about the vigilante, someone wanted by the law. They painted him as a criminal, but she always thought of him as a hero. Now that she knew who he was, the hero had a name, family, friends… and a very handsome face to go with it. She couldn't do that, not when he went around saving people from snipers.

Felicity took a deep breath and her head wiped around her office, her coworkers had left for the day already and the room was dark with the exception of her computer monitors. She pressed her lips together and opened her browser, typing his name with a few clicks. She felt her heart raise when pictures of him and links to articles appeared on her screen, she was not sure what she was looking for… other than to feed the obsession she had been harvesting for weeks.

She clicked on a specific article; it was dated, from a year and a half ago when Oliver Queen had been taken to jail presumed to be the archer. She clicked it feeling her heart in her throat, his picture in the police lineup clear in her screen.

"I never liked that picture" she heard from behind her and the scream that escaped her lips was real, loud and trembling. It was _his_ voice that made her react the way she had, caught red handed by no other than Mr. Queen himself.

"I was _not_ looking you up on the internet" she said firmly closing her browsing window quickly, turning around to face him sheepishly. He had one brow raised and looked a mixture in between amused and unease, she noticed his jaw was clenches and his blue eyes studied her intently. She opened her lips to speak again but found to her surprise that she was mute.

His eyes squinted at her, studying her every move as it had not escaped him what she had been looking at. A picture of him when Detective Lance had brought him into custody to the Police Department years ago, his picture was next to a sketch of The Hood. He pressed his lips as his brows met in the middle into a deep frown.

"Strange thing to be looking at, specially when it's seven pm on a Thursday night… at work" he said and she swallowed heavily, feeling a chill running through her as nerves stroke her hard.

"I was- cleaning up my mail" she muttered "it has been a while since I have done that- and found this article someone had sent me back then" she rambled, her cheeks where hot and she thanked that it was dark in the room at that moment.

"Please don't fire me… or _hurt_me, I am not going to tell anyone_"_ She didn't know where that had come from, but she felt slightly nauseous when the words escaped her lips much preferring her previous state of complete muteness. His face changed quickly from a calculating one to utterly shocked.

"What?- I am not going to hurt you Felicity" his voice sounded breathless and confused and she stood up immediately feeling him closer to her than she had expected, the warmth of his body irradiating from his dark suit. She was going to be sick, her stomach moved dangerously as her heart slammed into her chest. His eyes were deep and fixed on her.

"Mr. Queen, please forget that I said anything, I haven't slept much in the past week, my brain isn't working property right now… or ever, when it's about me speaking with you, or in general I mean" she mumbled quickly as her hand grabbed her purse from the top of the table, feeling her stomach lurching inside her.

Oliver was not sure if he should laugh, be angry or concerned at what had just happened. This highly intelligent woman that looked like the Oracle, had found out his secret identity in a week. Something he guarded dearly, and that didn't want someone he didn't know or trust knowing. His eyes studied the woman in front of him, she looked paled and near to a panic attack. His own heart was beating faster than normal and he felt himself shift uncomfortably, his eyes going towards her computer that now showed a black page with white letters full of coding.

The fact that he wasn't speaking made her nerves spike and she pushed herself forward, fully intending to leave that place and wait for an email next morning that told her to not come back to work. She jumped when his hand moved to her arm stopping her, it was a soft touch and his eyes seemed to have softened a bit.

"I came here to thank you for your help last week… I am aware it wasn't a Queen Consolidated job, but a personal one" he paused, pressing his lips into a line as she held her breath without realizing it "I didn't get to thank you properly last week… so, _thank you_"

Her eyes had focused on his and she nodded tightly not sure of what to respond, not trusting her brain to not say something awful. His brow was still slightly frowned and she knew he was considering what to do next.

"Okay…" she said after a moment and he nodded, his hand dropping to his side leaving behind a burning sensation on her skin. Her teeth found her bottom lip as she breathed in trying to calm her nerves.

Both of them stood in silence for a minute that felt like an eternity, Oliver gave a step backwards towards the door, his hands quickly traveling to his pants pockets.

"Sometimes things are not what it seems" his voice deep and serious. She starred at him wordlessly feeling her cheeks becoming hotter "sometimes they are, but the reality of them can hurt many people when they get discovered. I hope I can count on your discretion… about the laptop"

And just like that, he had turned on his heels and left her there, her heart banging inside her chest as her brain analyzed his last words. Her hands held to her purse so tightly her knuckles where white with lack of circulation. She let herself breath again, his scent still lingering in the room.

Felicity left the office shortly after, not wanting to stay there any longer. She realized as she drove back home that even though she had been embarrassed and nervous, she hadn't really been afraid of him. It might be stupid on her part, she _should_have been afraid; he had pretty much admitted of being The Arrow. Which had her brain reeling.

Why? Why had he trusted her with his secret? In reality she had already known it, but still… he didn't know her, she didn't know him. Why did she felt like she could trust him? Like she had known him in another life.

She shook her head to rush him out of her thoughts as she pulled over in her apartment's parking lot. The car was in complete silence, which was different because she always listened to music on her way back from work.

She felt herself relax when she finally was home, she turned on a candle and stripped out of her work clothes and replaced them with a comfy set of pajamas, then she walked barefoot towards her kitchen and got herself working on her dinner, knowing in the back of her mind she will totally be hitting the ice cream drawer later that night.

Felicity was not a cook by any means, but was good at making a few dishes that were simple, quick and healthy. She found herself distracted from everything that had happened for part of the night, to only get back to her near obsession with Oliver Queen and the Arrow after she had showered and was reading her emails from bed.

She found herself thinking if she was doing everything she wanted out of life. She admired Oliver who was a Millionaire by day and a hero by night. What had she accomplished? A daughter of a waitress, fatherless, under appreciated IT girl in a huge company. Her heart was drumming inside her chest as she realized to her dismay that she wanted to be more that that, that she wanted to be a part of whatever Oliver Queen was doing.

It was then that she found herself looking for The Arrow, she read many articles, she pin pointed areas where he had been seen last. By the end of the night she was sure that his place of operation was in or near his Club, The Verdant. She took a short breath and closed her laptop, the room now in complete darkness. There wasn't much noise outside other than the soft humming of her central heater. Her hand took off her glasses with one move while the other one rubbed lightly the bridge of her nose.

She knew who he was, she knew where he worked day and night; she knew she wanted to be a part of it, somehow. She didn't know how to get to be a part of this hero's journey and not look to him like the complete crazy woman she had become in the past 24 hours. She placed the glasses on her side table and slid her laptop to her side. She had a plan.

.&.

Oliver grunted a protest when he felt the sharp pain of the kick spread across his cheek, his vision going black momentarily as he stumbled back, his steps muffled by the rubber on the floor. He heard a heavy intake of air and shook his head momentarily to clear his vision, hand going towards his jaw, moving it in circles as he winced in pain.

"Ouch" he said coldly opening his eyes, his expression irritated. The tall, strong man in front of him shrugged, abandoning his fighting stance as a smirk appeared on his face.

"I guess that's what you get for not being in the game tonight, you should be happy it's me and not some tug outside" Diggle said, walking slowly towards the dummy where his towel was hanging, bending over to pick up his water bottle from the floor.

"…"

"What has you so distracted?" he asked and threw an unopened water bottle towards Oliver how grabbed it mid air.

"Who says I am distracted" Diggle raised one brow skeptical.

"Let's just say that I rarely get to connect a kick on your face…" Oliver starred at Diggle for a moment before sighing.

"She knows Diggle…"

"Who knows?" his breathing was still heavy as he wiped off sweat off his neck with his towel; Oliver was still inspecting his bloody lip, his brows meeting in the middle into a frown when he saw a trace of blood on his finger.

"Felicity Smoak"

"What do you mean _she knows_?" Diggle looked alarmed, even though his voice was still calmed and leveled.

"What I said, Felicity knows who I am" his voice was serious as his blue eyes met Diggle's.

"How?"

"I don't know, she is smart… I came to check up on her tonight, it was supposed to be a quick in and out sort of thing, and I found her checking up on old articles that incriminated me on being The Hood" Diggle frowned as well.

"That is a very old article… For all we know, she is one of those girls that has developed a massive crush on you and has been checking up on old stories about you"

Oliver starred at his friend feeling a different kind of feeling in the pit of his stomach; he allowed his thoughts to travel that that idea. It was possible after all, but then he remembered her eyes and her words and that seemed highly unlikely.

"Believe me Diggle, she _knows_—not only did she ask me not to hurt her, but the way she looked at me" Oliver took a deep breath and shook his head "I don't know what to do now"

"You can't put an arrow on this girl because she knows your secret Oliver" Diggle said it matter of factly while crossing his arms across his wide chest.

"_Our_ secret" Oliver corrected "and of course not—but there must be a way we can get her to be on our side, to insure she wont run to the police with whatever information she might have gathered"

"One bullet ridden laptop is hardly evidence to prove that you're The Arrow" Diggle insisted.

"Yes, that is true… I have the laptop now, so that is that. But if she is anything like… if she is good at digging things up, I don't want to take any chances"

"Well it has been a week since you asked her for help with the laptop, how long do you think she has known?"

"I don't know" Oliver paused for a moment, concern pooling on his face "if she is anything like her sister, then she probably has known for a few days at least…"

"Her sister… the Oracle? Let's just hope she isn't like the woman that has you all tide up in knots right now" Oliver shook his head lightly, mouth opening slightly before he pressed his lips into a fine line.

"She isn't like the Oracle"

"And how do you know that? You barely know this girl Oliver"

"But I know the Oracle" he said quickly "I have been checking on Felicity Smoak ever since I agreed to protect her, they are very different people Megan and her, both smart… brilliant actually, but they come from very different worlds, Megan is a trained assassin Diggle, she is good at destroying you from afar and from close distance, she manipulates to get what she wants" Oliver paused as if lost in distant memories "Felicity… she looks and acts like she wont want to hurt anyone" he started walking out of the training mats, his jaw felt sore, his lip was palpitating and he could tell it will be swollen by the morning if he didn't put anything on it.

"What I don't understand is why you are still helping a woman that sounds like you hate" Oliver turned to his friend and his cold protective mask was off for a brief moment.

"Sure… she might not be my friend, but at some point she was my partner—and I owe her my life" the tone on his voice was definite and Diggle nodded shortly after.

"Then I guess you better put on your friendly mask and convince Ms. Smoak to join our crusade, as I see it that will be the only way to keep an eye on her, and keep her safe at the same time" Oliver seemed to think about it briefly and after a minute he nodded.

"Yes… I guess she was an honorary member last week, we could use her skills, and in exchange protect her from the Bratva"

"You have to work on your excuses… spilled latte? Really?" Oliver flushed slightly and a small grin tugged on his lips.

"I will try harder next time"

.&.

Felicity wasn't sure how much sleep she had gotten the night before, but judging from how cranky and groggy she felt, she had probably stayed up most of the night thinking about her life, whom she was and who she wanted to be.

Her pale fingers pulled up the side zipper on her polkadot dress. Blue and white was always a good combination in her mind. She walked towards the bathroom to give one last attempt to fix her hair. She had worn it down that morning, because it was cold outside and she wanted to wear a dress. She brushed her fingers through her golden strands, it calming down her fly always and then reached forward towards her lipsticks, picking up a red shade.

Sure she looked and felt tired, but once she put on that bright happy shade she would feel better. She walked out of her bathroom and discovered that it was still dark outside, and she cursed winter under her breath bending down to pick her black heels with one slow clumsy move.

After she put on her long coat and picked up her purse she paused for a moment to check her email, to discover she hadn't received one from Queen Consolidates during the night, which meant she still had a job… for now.

She walked out to the cold morning feeling ready for a cup of coffee and determined to become a part of whatever The Arrow was doing to help the city, she had skills to offer, and a willing heart.

On her way to QC she stopped by her favorite coffee shop, picking up her regular medium café latte, and a large blueberry scone. The barista was a cute guy, tall, lanky with dark long hair and tattoos. She always thought he had the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen… that was until she met Oliver Queen in person.

She found herself frowning at her thoughts and blew out an exasperated breath realizing she was not thinking of him the way she should. Sure she thought he was brave, a hero, she admired him and the symbol that he represented for the city. Hope. But she didn't need her libido and hormones driving her crazy about his face and body, and how good he seemed to look in suits. That man didn't go for nerdy girls like herself, even though she knew she was pretty and could clean up good if she wanted to.

No, Oliver Queen dated models, actresses, rich women that had too much time on their hands and spent 4 hours at the gym and had personal cooks and trainers. Ones that could go to the salon every week and hanged out in clubhouses and played golf.

"Plus, all men look good in suits" she told herself out loud, nodding at her own comment. Jeremy, the barista raised his eyes across the espresso machine, one eyebrow shooting up his hairline. She smiled at him flushing slightly, she was glad he chose not to comment on her craziness that morning.

"A medium coffee non fat Latte, extra sugar for my favorite IT girl… and a large blueberry scone, which I might have to say that are extra tasty this morning" he said a soft smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you Jeremy, see you tomorrow" she said softly with the smile still dancing on her lips, reaching for her new warm beverage.

"See you tomorrow" he said softly, turning with a smile towards his next costumer. She left her favorite coffee shop with a smile; she always liked it in there. It was a small family owned business, with white walls and dark wooden tables. A large exposed brick fireplace warmed the room. She normally sat in the large leather chair that was comfortably placed in front of it, reading a book or working on codes and scripts in her computer.

On a weekday though, she still managed to come every other day at least. Normally Ruben or Jeremy, both sons from the owners made her coffee. They were both in their twenties, and both where still in school, which made her believe they where a at least few years younger than herself.

She got into her red Mini Cooper and rode off towards Queen Consolidates as the sunrise peaked in between the tall building of Downtown in the horizon. She didn't think of Oliver Queen, the Arrow, or what she was planning to do for the rest of her drive. She called her mother instead, and talked about the weather, casino politics and the new dog her mother was fostering.

"By the way, Rachel dropped by the Casino a few days ago… she asked about you, and told me to tell you to answer to her emails" Felicity laughed remembering her high school friend.

"I would, if she remembered to actually send these emails she keeps talking about… last time she mention such thing, said email sat on her drafts folder for months before she realized she hadn't sent it to me" Felicity said with fondness, while shaking her head. Her mother laughed, even though Felicity knew she had no idea what a draft folder was.

"Well call her Lissy, I mean… good friends are hard to come by, specially as you get older"

"I know, believe me… I feel guilty for being a complete workaholic, but Rach happens to also be a workaholic, so it's not only me"

"That poor girl works herself too hard… I think she has lost like 10 pounds in the last two months, I told her she should start eating or she will look like skin and bones" her mother sounded concerned, and Felicity pursed her lips making a mental note to call Rachel later that day.

"I will call her to make sure she is eating mother" Felicity said, remembering old times and the fact that Rachel always lost weight when under a lot of stress.

"Well hey, I will let you go… I actually have to make sure I leave everything set up so Charlie the dog doesn't get anxious while I'm gone"

"You know you don't have to call him Charlie the dog, I know his name by now" Felicity laughed entertained "I am glad you have some company"

"Me too, who would have thought having a dog could be this much fun… and this much work" Felicity laughed again.

"I thought that"

"Of course you did, smarty pants" she could almost hear her mother rolling her eyes, and the thought made her feel homesick.

"I will call you later this week, I love you mom"

"I love you too sweetie"

It was a good start to her morning.

Perfect timing too, she was pulling into the QC underground parking structure. She smiled as she drove in, feeling her heart speed up inside her chest, feeling anxious once again.

She powered through her work in the morning and by 11 am she scanned her room and found only the humming of processors and fans behind her. Her fingers flied on top of her tablet, gracing the glass as she typed and read, and re read news articles.

The new and improved Count Vertigo was in every front page. The Vigilante, Oliver Queen, had taken his predecessor down a year ago. The original Count had created a dangerous, addictive drug that had everyone addicted. This new drug was being sold in clubs, and in the streets, it was hard to track down who was selling it, how and who was making them. They didn't have a suspect, but several people had ended up in the hospital in the past week, three people had died of overdose.

She had been reading about this the night before, while she decided how to get involved, how she could help. Her eyes scanned her computer screen, and she swallowed as she hacked into the FBI face recognition software. She had always wanted to do this, and she was good enough she could get in and out without anyone noticing that she was even there.

"Bingo" she murmured softly to herself with a soft grin as she opened the software, re-writing a few codes here and there that will make it secure for her to use. She put that aside and started checking the map the FBI had been marking as of where they had found Vertigo had been sold last, she also found that the cops had caught three people who where suspected to have been selling the drug.

She took all the information she gathered and put it on her secured hard drive. She quickly closed everything behind herself, backtracking all her steps, removing all tracks she had ever been there. She took a soft breath feeling her heart beat quickly inside her chest.

She got out of her office with a quick step, chin up and back straight as she walked towards the elevator. Both of her hands where busy, one held a purple folder and another held a long cable. She could feel her nerves growing as the elevator went up, chiming as it opened on the executive's floor.

She swallowed and walked out stopping right outside the elevator, her nerves hitting her hard in the stomach, making her feel sick momentarily.

_You don't have to do this… no one knows, just turn around and walk away._Her inner voice told her, always the more responsible and slightly annoying part of her brain.

"I do have to do this, people are dying" she told herself in between teeth, and blushed when she realized that she probably looked like a crazy woman. Maybe she was becoming crazy with this whole vigilante situation.

She took a deep breath that gave her the last boost of confidence she needed and walked with determined steps towards his office. Joyce was up from her desk and meeting her when she was reaching to entered the CEO's office.

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked, eyebrow up in defiance. She didn't like Joyce; she acted as if she was above all other employees because she was the EA of Oliver Queen.

"I came to fix Mr. Queen's computer" Felicity said not hiding her annoyance, raising the hand that held the cable and waving it around. Joyce frowned and crossed her arms in front of herself.

"Mr. Queen didn't mentioned his computer was faulty"

"And that will be because that is my job, as of me and the IT department. We monitor the computers in the building, to make sure they are all running securely and without interruptions, Mr. Queen's computer has a power failure since today at 8 am. I am guessing one of the power cables had a short… it can burn up his six thousand dollars computer if I don't change it" Felicity took moment to breathe in.

"Mr. Queen doesn't like just anyone touching his computer" Joyce said sounding a bit insecure, though her face was still cold and calculating. Felicity nodded and gave one step backwards.

"Of course, I can come back later when Mr. Queen gets in and complains he lost all his files when his computer burnt up. I will gladly fill him into the fact that this could have been prevented if I had been allowed to do my job" Felicity tried to hide her smile when Joyce's face lost all the color.

"That's nonsense, no one is stopping you from doing your work… go inside and fix it before the computer burns up, you should have been here sooner" Joyce scolded her frowning. Felicity nodded and reached to open the glass door that led her to his large office.

She had been there before but today was the first time she didn't actually have to fix anything. She walked towards his desk knowing well that Joyce's eyes were fixed on her like a hawk. She moved his mouse and saw the monitor pop up with a locked screen, she smiled knowing that Oliver had more than enough reasons to keep everything locked. She moved around her fingers acting like she was typing and then knelt to the floor placing the purple folder on his desk. She didn't change any cables, but moved them around enough to know that in Joyce's eyes she had.

She came into her feet quickly fixing her dress, her eyes fixed on the folder she had placed on top of his desk. She left the room feeling her heart pounding hard, not looking back, too afraid of getting caught, of being wrong, of being right.

"Morning Mr. Queen" Joyce said meeting him halfway in the corridor, her smile bright as she handed him a few folders with the paperwork he needed to check that day.

"It's not morning anymore Miss Bryce" Oliver said giving her a side look, she flushed slightly and nodded. He was never on time, but that morning he was especially late. He had been up most of the night trying to catch the New Count Vertigo, with no luck.

"I reschedule the meeting with legal for this afternoon at 4, you sister called three times…" Oliver nodded, they passed the threshold of his office, and it was always a few degrees cooler there. He paged through the folders before putting them on the table, his eyes fixing momentarily on the purple folder that popped among all the other gray, beige and white ones. His head crooked to the side and his eyes went towards Joyce one eyebrow rising.

"Did someone come into my office?" he asked and his voice was serious, Joyce blushed intensely and nodded.

"Oh yes, uh… the blonde IT girl that talks a lot. I never remember her name but she came to fix your computer earlier today. I tried to not let her in Mr. Queen, but she insisted that the computer could burn or something if she didn't change the cable" she looked concerned for a moment and he felt his stomach move, feeling as his blood started pumping faster through his veins and he simply nodded.

"Of course, I wouldn't like my computer burning up" he said walking towards his desk, unbuttoning his suit jacket preparing himself to be seated.

"Is there anything else I can get for you Mr. Queen?"

"Actually, there is… would you be so kind and to get me some coffee?" his blue eyes were already traveling towards the folder in front of him, wanting for her to be gone so he could check whatever was inside of it.

"I will bring it right up" he heard Joyce's voice from afar, the door of his office closing behind the sound of her clicking heals. The absolute silence of the afternoon surrounded him, the soft humming of his computer. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to find, his fingers going over the folder.

He didn't know what to expect from her, from this damm folder and the fact that she knew his secret. Felicity Smoak was a mystery to him, and he didn't like mysteries. She looked and sounded like someone he knew well, someone that was linked to his past… a friend and a foe.

He didn't know who Felicity was, but she surely wasn't a friend, at least not yet. She wasn't a foe either. His blue eyes opened at once and he flipped the folder holding his breath.

_Mr. Queen, These are the files you have been looking for._Was written in a brightly pink post-it note, bellow it there was a small thumb drive tapped to the folder.

He raised his brown as his fingers took the thumb drive from the folder, inspecting it for a moment. Before plugging it behind his monitor, he heard the door of his office opening and Joyce walking towards him with a cup of coffee and a smile plastered on her face.

"Your coffee Mr. Queen, black, no cream, no sugar" she muttered as she placed it carefully on the glass table.

"Thank you Miss Bryce" he said dismissively, his eyes already moving towards his screen not wanting to engage in conversation. He heard her leave, closing the door behind herself and he only allowed himself to lower his guard when he heard nothing once again.

His heart was pouncing inside his chest, curiosity prickling behind his neck, and an alarm buzzing inside his head. He opened the folders inside the hard drive and felt himself stop breathing when in front of him he found information the police had gathered from The Count. He found a map that pointed where they knew the dealers where selling, and in brightly pink highlighter he found other places circled. Then he found videos, street videos of the guys that were in custody, meeting in the night, a gas station, in front of an Italian restaurant. These were the places Felicity had marked in the map herself.

Oliver was expecting to find demands for money, threats, her asking for something in return for her secrecy. He never expected what he found. He took the hard drive off his computer and slid it on his pocket before letting himself lay against the backrest of his chair, mind lost in what had just happened. He didn't notice the smile that had appeared on his face; maybe he didn't know Felicity Smoak's was… but he surely wanted to know now.

She hadn't heard anything from him all day long, and she didn't know why that disappointed her so much. She was not sure what she had been expecting that would happen. At least she still had a job.

It was the end of her workday, 6 pm on a winter day. It was dark, cold and wet outside and she had no plans for the night other than to go and make herself some dinner and perhaps watch some Parks and Rec. She started looking for her car keys as she walked out to the parking lot, her eyes rising to find a half empty floor, her car a few meters from her, and a tall, broody, handsome man that laid in the passenger door, arms crossed in front of him.

Her steps started to slow down as she came closer, her arms dropping to her sides and she knew by how increasable hot she was getting, that she had blushed intensely. They were both in silence for what seemed an eternity.

"Mr. Queen I…"

"Please call me Oliver, Felicity"

"Right, Oliver… I am so sorry, for intruding in your how thing, I shouldn't have taken the liberty of sticking my nose in what it really is none of my concern—I just, I wanted to help-you" she rambled again, her mouth and her brain didn't work properly when this man was near her. Their eyes met and she got lost in the bright blue of his orbs, feeling her stomach move dangerously inside her.

"Does this mean you are in?" his voice was light, the corner of his lips turning up into a slight smile; he was holding the purple folder she had put on his desk earlier that day.

She couldn't hide how surprised she felt for a moment, that he was there next to her car. His tie had been loosened and both of his hands rested on his pockets. This was happening for real, she felt a tremble running through her body and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"You mean in, as in I am going to join your crusade?" her eyes were shinning behind her glasses, her heart hammering inside her ribcage. He smirked at her once again, his expression softening as he pulled his weight from her car and took a step towards her.

"Well, you are practically an honorary member of the team already" he said rising the folder in the air, his eyes going towards it for a brief moment and she couldn't help but smile.

"Yes" she said in a voice so small she was surprised he heard her. He took another step forward, his eyes fixed on hers once again.

"What we do is highly illegal… and dangerous" he said warningly and she laughed, nodding.

"I have noticed" there was a moment of silence in between both of them, and it was filled with mutual acknowledgement.

"If I might ask… why did you decide to help us, instead of turning us to the police?" his question surprised her, and not only due to the fact that he said _us_ not him. She swallowed hard as she thought of what to say, something that wouldn't make her sound like she had developed a crush on his alter ego.

Which she hadn't, right?

"Would you believe me if I said I admire you?" he looked truly taken aback, his lips parting slightly in shock. She blushed intensely, her eyes traveling down to the concrete floor.

"I think you are a hero Oliver, before I knew who the Arrow was I always thought he was what Starling City needed, specially after you stopped killing people" There was a small moment of silence and she found herself looking at him once again, feeling her heart turn into a knot when she realized he looked haunted.

"I'm _not_ a hero Felicity" he said simply.

"But you _are_, you have saved hundreds of people… what you do is selfless, you put yourself out there in danger to stop criminals" Felicity stopped to take a deep breath "I spent all night last night thinking I wanted to be more than just an IT girl, that I wanted to help people… you showed me that"

He looked at her lost in his own thoughts, and she felt herself move in her spot nervously.

"Thank you" he said finally and raised his hand towards her, she smiled and shook it.

"Partners?" her voice sounded stronger now.

"Partners" and he was grinning.


	3. Teamwork

She had met Diggle the morning after, when he had stopped by her office with a serious almost taciturn face, and dark eyes full of curiosity. He had come by to tell her where to meet them that night.

"I know where the Arrow cave is… have known for a few days actually" she said pushing her glasses up with, a nervous tick she had develop in this ordeal, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Arrow cave?" he asked with an amused tone, one brow rising.

"Well, that is how I have been calling it for a lack of a better name… and because it sounds super hero-y" the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Well I wish I could say I'm surprised you know where our base of operation is, but may I ask how the hell did you find that out?" she swallowed down nervously. Her eyes scanned the place, making sure no one was around to over hear them talking. Later she will realized John Diggle wouldn't have been talking to her, at seven in the morning if the IT department wasn't completely empty and safe to talk.

"Well it wasn't _that_ hard really, after I found out O… who the Arrow was, I ran an algorithm at home to pin point the last crimes he solved, it gave me a few mile radius to go by… it's mostly based in the Glades which didn't say much at first since it's the most unsafe area of Starling City" she took a deep breath and his arms had dropped to his sides, abandoning his previous guarding stance.

"Then I checked for buildings in the Glades that were owned by him… it really wasn't that hard if you think about it" she pressed her lips and blushed when his brows rose, looking completely bemused by her.

"I see…" his head turned slightly towards the door when they both heard voiced coming from the hallway, his weight shifted in his heals and his dark eyes travelled towards her once again and he looked more relaxed than he had been when he entered her office earlier that day.

"I guess I will see you tonight?" she said in a quiet tone and he nodded sharply already halfway to the door.

He disappeared behind the frosted glass door and just a few minutes later Marcus and Brandon came in, both heads still turned, looking in puzzlement behind the large man.

"Was that Oliver Queen's bodyguard?" one of them asked turning towards Felicity.

"I believe it was" she said simply, trying to appeared uninterested as she nodded sharply.

"Wow… he is extremely big, I surely wouldn't wanna mess up with him. Was there anything wrong?" said the other one walking towards his desk; Felicity shook her head pressing her lips momentarily.

"Nope, just wanted to let me know there will be some extra security he wants added to Mr. Queen's office… some cameras and such" she blinked a few times and a grin appeared on her face "he wants heavier security in his office's computer too…" one of the guys huffed shaking his head.

"Is there ever anything good enough for these rich folks…? His computer might be the best guarded, fastest machine in the building, though I'm not positive he knows how to work it" Felicity grinned, lowering her eyes towards her computer knowing they had believed her cover story.

"You might be surprised" she muted softly.

"So… who is going to tackle this one?" Marcus asked, as he let his body weight fall heavily onto his chair, green eyes going from Felicity to Brandon.

"I can, after all I believe this might be my own doing, I had to go to Mr. Queen's office yesterday, one of his computer cables had a short… I think his paranoid about things happening to his computer might have been caused by me" Felicity offered. And just like that she had been able to fortify Oliver's machine, added cameras that showed them if any unwanted visitors would come to his office.

And she was one step closer to defining her own value to the team.

.&.

She would never forget the day she found out Oliver didn't trust her; Queen Consolidated had become victim of a large cyber attack, a group of hackers who called themselves 'Guardians of Peace' had tried to hack and steal personal information from all their employees. It had been a nightmare the whole day and she had left work at 9 pm. Too wigged out to go home she decided to go straight to The Foundry to finish setting up some firewalls of the computers there.

She wouldn't have been able to sleep thinking about some cyber terrorists getting all the information they needed about The Arrow. She had gone an extra step to make sure everything was safe. It was 3 am when Oliver shook her shoulder and woke her up.

Boy she was glad she had not drooled on her arm as she slept in her desk. She woke up shaking herself, feeling cold, groggy and tired, her eyes focusing on the man dressed in green in front of her. He looked serious though, his eyes squinting as he took her in.

"It's late…" he said simply and his voice sounded deep, and oddly enough much like the Arrow. She shook her head sleepily, not realizing his mood yet, turning towards the monitor as she nodded absently, raising her hand she turned the screens off and stretched like a cat in her chair.

"After the whole thing with the hackers at work… I figured I should get better firewalls here." She couldn't help the yawn that escaped her lips and he raised one brow, finally putting his bow on the table in front of him.

"Why don't you go home… it's late, and I don't want you falling asleep at work tomorrow"

"Ok… goodnight," she said tiredly, too tired to notice his stance or tone of voice. She got up from her chair nodding as she grabbed her purse and walked around him, stopping in the middle of the room, finding him hovering over the computer "see you tomorrow?"

He turned on his heel and nodded, and without another word she left the Foundry that night, and as she drove home she noticed that he had been defensive with her, dismissing her, holding the bow to the last second. His voice like the one she had heard him used as the Arrow.

She felt a mixture of anger and sorrow travelled through her veins and suddenly she wasn't sleepy any longer. She pulled up her tablet when she got home, connecting immediately to the Foundry service, which she had set up earlier that day, as a way to remotely connect and make sure everything was working properly… and to help Diggle and Oliver in case she was home when they needed her help.

Then she saw it, Oliver was checking everything that had been installed in the computer within the last six hours, he wasn't an expert with the computers, but it was obvious he knew enough. She frowned and found herself filled with grief, not understanding why Oliver didn't trust her.

She didn't sleep much that night, when they alarm went off at 6 am she has been starring at the roof of her bedroom, her heart hammering in her chest. She remembered all the exchanges her and Oliver had had, I guess she did force herself into their team… kind of. He _had_ invited her in at the end, calling her an honorary member. She pressed her lips into a fine line and dragged herself off bed.

By the time she got to work that morning it was already 7:30 am, and she was holding in one hand a hot cup of coffee from her favorite coffee shop, and in the other her purse and umbrella. The IT department was empty; most guys would probably be in later that day, since most of them had worked crazy overtime the night before.

She sat on her desk and let a soft sigh escape her lips, she hadn't slept 2 hours the night before, and she felt too many emotions to put her fingers on. So as she sipped her coffee she checked on her mail and got busy with work and tickets people had sent the night before.

Work had kept her distracted most of the day, so the time she got to the Foundry she hadn't have much time to overthink what she was going to tell Oliver once she saw him. He came into the Foundry thirty minutes after she had rolled in; he was alone which was odd. He was still wearing his dark navy suit, his steps where quick but slowed down when his eyes met hers. She was sitting straight on her chair, bag on her lap and face stone cold serious.

"Felicity… is everything okay?" his eyebrows where meeting in the middle, and she imitated his expression while getting up from her seat, nerves flaring through her body, tingling her skin.

"I don't know, you tell me." she sounded defensive and loud. She winced internally at how shaky her voice sounded.

"What…?"

"I have one question, why invite me to become a part of this… this 'team' if you aren't going to trust me." his brows shot to his hairline and for a moment he looked stunned.

"I don't have a clue as of what you are talking about." he said second later, and he was looking hard and cold.

"I'm talking about you checking on what I have been doing to the computers here last night, about the way you acted when you found me here last night even though I was just trying to keep you stupid identity safe." he was quiet for a moment, his jaw tense.

"I don't know what you are talking about." he said, and she was actually shocked that even though she always thought Oliver Queen was a terrible liar, he had sold it, if she hadn't known any better she would have believed him.

"Bullshit," she said and she frowned walking a few steps closer to her, his large body shadowing hers. His presence so full and intimidating it took all she had in her to not back down.

"I saw you last night, checking everything in the computer, even going so far as to backtrack all the codes I had set up… what did you do after, make sure I hadn't install cameras around the Foundry," he paled and she felt a wave of anger run through her "you _did_!?" she gasped and took a step backwards, holding the handles of her purse tightly.

"You are checking at what I do in _my_ computers? How and most importantly, why?"

"How… because I'm smart and that is what I do!" she said loudly "and why, because I thought it will be good to keep an eye on things here while we were at work, to make sure no one got into our system without us knowing, and because I wanted to make sure I could help you and Diggle if you needed when I had gone home for the night… or if I didn't come in on the weekend" she felt tears forming in her eyes, and she wasn't sure if they were angry or sad tears, so she took a deep breath and took a step forward.

"I was wrong." She said walking past him as a hurricane, wanting to be out of there as fast as she could.

"About what?" she heard his voice, and could imagine his jaw was clenched.

"About signing up with you… this was a mistake" she had not given three steps when his hand wrapped around her arm halting her escape.

"Felicity wait…" his voice sounded gentler, and she stopped but didn't turned to look at him, she could feel the heat of his hold seep through her cardigan "I'm sorry"

And she turned to him, meeting his piercing gaze, feeling her insides shake with his intensity.

"I'm sorry because I know this must be hard for you, but this is hard for me too… I don't trust people so easily and you," he stopped and she could see his Adam's apple go down and then up as he swallowed "you are a variable I was not counting on, but I'm happy that you are here with us"

There was a moment of silence in between both of them and she nodded finally, and he let go of her hand slowly.

"You have to give me a chance, I want to help… I want to be a part of this" she said softly and he nodded.

"And you have to give me time… trust is earned Felicity, and believe me it took a lot of trust to let you in here"

"Well… I knew about the Arrow Cave and your secret before you let me in…" he turned his head to the side, his brow frowning for a moment.

"Arrow cave?"

"I call it that… occasionally" he shook his head while taking a deep breath.

"Let's not…call it that"

"You are so controlling Oliver" she said before she could stop the words from flowing through her lips. And he was grinning at her a moment after, the heaviness of the room lifting.

"I keep hearing that…" he said lightly.

"It must be true then."

Days became weeks, weeks became months, and Felicity didn't expect what was to become of her life that night in the parking lot of QC as she had shaken Oliver's hand for the first time. That night she had become his partner, his and Diggle that was.

.&.

"_Felicity_!" his voice sounded loud and irritated through the earpiece and she jumped on her spot stopping mid rambling. She heard him take a short exasperated breath and she swallowed, feeling a wave of nerves prickling at her skin.

"_I need you to focus, how many guards are coming my way_…?" her fingers typed on her keyboard, the soft noise of her typing bouncing around the concrete walls of the foundry. She felt her heart on her throat and her eyes moved from one screen to the next, her brain finally snapping back into action.

"Three, they are two rooms away from you—Diggle is on his way to get you" she pressed her lips when she saw him move slightly, red beams of lasers marking everywhere in the dark room where he stood.

"As I was saying before… I just pulled the Blue Prints from the building, the good news is that it was built in the 70's, which might mean that the wiring is defective… if you can find a power supply that might turn the power off in the building, that is until the generators they have in the basement kick in"

"_How long will it give me?"_

"Five minutes… maybe less" her voice was small and concerned "the alarm won't come off if the power is cut off at once, but if you are in that room when the system comes back up we will be dealing with a lot more than three guards"

"_Hold tight I see I fuse box_" his voice was deep, his Arrow voice.

"Oliver be careful" they were both quiet for a moment, she could hear his breathing on the other end, leveled… and then she heard the soft slipping of an arrow and then a sharp explosion and the sound of… nothing. She felt a wave of panic running through her as her hand went to her earpiece, cold and sweaty as she spoke with a shaky voice.

"Oliver, Oliver?" it had been at least a minute, she turned to her computer typing away, the electricity had cut off and she could see from the security cameras the guards turning on some flashlights and running through the hallways towards the room where Oliver was, knowing something was up there. She couldn't hear them.

She was not sure how many times she said Oliver's name without an answer; she turned her earpiece to the other line to talk to Diggle. Her heart beating inside her chest so hard she felt near a panic attack.

"Diggle I don't know what happened to Oliver!" she said, wishing her voice didn't sound so shaky.

"_Hey, it's fine Felicity he is here_" she felt relief wash over her and the weight of her body sink into her chair, exhalation out a breath she didn't even known she had been holding. Then slowly she frowned.

"Why the heck didn't you guys let me know any sooner? I could have had a heart attack" her voice was icy and she could hear Diggle's breathy laugh from the other end.

"Sorry we were… held up, by a dozen guards shooting at the van" he said, his voice sounded amused and she huffed a deep breath angrily.

"Still… are you on your way? Did you get the hard drive?" there was a pause and she could hear the van accelerating in the background

"We got it and we are on our way…" she heard Diggle say after a moment and in the background she could hear Oliver's voice, someone was following them. She started panicking again and after she had asked a few times what was going on Diggle had turned off the ear device and all she could hear was silence.

She was fuming by the time they both came downstairs, getting up from her chair and stomping towards them with both hands on her hips.

"You turned off the device!?" she accused Diggle, finger pointing at the large man who just smirked to the side, both arms crossing in front of himself. Oliver quietly had snuck up behind her, bow in hand as he swiftly placed it on its stand and walked firmly towards the computers ignoring her and whatever she was complaining about.

"I couldn't focus in the car that was tailing us and you screaming in my ear Felicity" Diggle said and she squinted at him.

"I have access to the street cameras and could have help you" she said, and she jumped on her place when she heard Oliver's voice for the first time in hours.

"You helped us where you could Felicity, it was up to Diggle to lose the trail and he needed all the focus he could have" he said and he was clicking on the computer, plugging in the hard drive he had just retrieved on his mission. Felicity gasped practically running towards him.

"Oliver, what are you doing?" he turned slightly on her chair, blinking confused. Her murderous look not going unnoticed.

"I was trying to check on the files I got from the…" but her small hand was pushing the chair aside with a force she didn't even know she had. The computer's screens had started blinking, flashing as the downloading bar kept going up in percentage. She cursed under her breath and he frowned when windows started popping up in the screens. The hard drive had been loaded not only with the files they needed, but also with a virus.

She worked fast, her focus unwavering as she typed, cursed and worked. She could still feel Oliver hovering next to her, eyes wide following what was happening in the screens. After minutes that felt like hours the storm had passed and she breathed loudly letting her weight slump against the table.

She felt him get up slowly from her chair and turned to him, looking hard and accusatory.

"Felicity…" he started, his voice was low and small and she could tell he felt guilty.

"Don't Felicity me," she practically growled, "Do I go around touching your arrows, weapons or weird magical plants from tropical islands? No, because I could kill someone if I do, I don't have the training to do so" and he pressed his lips into a fine line, blue eyes fixed on hers.

"It's not the first time I have done this you know." he said defensively and that was his second mistake.

There was silence around them and she turned towards Diggle who raised both brows and hands in surrender. Her hands where back on her hips and she glowered to both of them.

"I spent hours in these computers every day, making sure they are seal tight so no one can hack us, no one knows where we are and that was almost compromised because you couldn't wait for me to do _my _job" they both looked at her in silence, never had she being so upset and used her loud voice with them before.

"I stay here while you both go out and risk your lives, I can't do much physically to help you two, but I can do this… _I'm good_ at this," she pointed at her computers "if you guys are out there and don't remember to tell me that one of you is safe I can't do my job right, because I care!"

There was a moment of silence and Oliver came in one step closer to her, one hand coming to her shoulder in a soft comforting caress.

"I'm sorry, I won't be doing that again." he said in a low voice and she blinked her anger away, after a moment she nodded breathing out as her heart beats lowered.

"And don't touch my computers again" he smiled at the mention of it,_ her _computers. He found to his amusement he liked that.

"Okay"

"Felicity- you have to trust us to be alright, if we turn off the device for a moment." He paused and took a step forward, they were closer now that they had been in week, since that day she had patched one of his shoulders, and he could smell the soft scent of berries and vanilla of her perfume, he found himself grinning before he could scowled his feeling away.

"I know you must feel helpless when we are out there, but you have to trust we are going to come back… it will help us to not have you freaking out on the other end" she heard Diggle's voice from the side as he also stepped towards them and his face was sans the previous mocking look he had.

She felt herself blush and after a moment she nodded.

"I trust you two will come back safe and sound… most times"

"And that is the danger on what we do, I'm sorry you were concerned today and that we acted more tactless than we should have… we are all learning about how this team works," Oliver said "plus my earpiece stopped working when I shot off the electricity in the warehouse…"

"Really?" Felicity sounded curious now and her hands rose towards his ear, to freeze when it was just a centimeter away, noticing two things, how close she had come to touch him and the fact that there wasn't a device in there to check.

She lowered her hand quickly, hiding it behind her neck as a flush crept her face, burning her cheeks, her pulse quicken. His bright blue eyes were fixed on her and she could see being his mask that she bemused him. She cleared her throat and walked past him towards her desk, trying to ignore the way her heart was beating and all the images of her touching his face the way she had wanted it to for weeks now.

What had just started as thinking that Oliver Queen was a handsome man that she admired turned quickly into a fully developed crush she didn't know how to contain. It didn't help that he walked around the foundry shirtless when he trained, or the way his voice was soft when he spoke to her, or the way his eyes crinkles when he smiled or laughed when she babbled something completely inappropriate.

When she started working with them months ago it had felt as if they were both expecting something from her, it had annoyed her to no end that it felt they thought they already knew her. But she had surprised them, when they expected her to leave them behind; she had stayed late and made sure they where back safe and sound. She worked hard to upgrade everything in the Foundry she could, and even had forced Oliver and Diggle to keep banks of their blood in a special fridge she had gotten. Just to be safe, in case of a rainy day.

Diggle, who had been harder to crack in a first, had actually trusted her much faster than Oliver had. But after months of her coming to both of her jobs, having the feeling of being watched at every move she made, every second she was with them, she now felt that Oliver Queen also trusted her.

Team Arrow… what she called them when Oliver wasn't around to say


End file.
